HP Chromebook 14 Hands-on: Haswell Power for $299

HP debuted its first Haswell-powered Chromebook last week with the HP Chromebook 14, touting a beefed-up CPU and an inviting $299 price tag. This week, we got our hands on the Google-based notebook, which is set for a November 3 release. Overall, we were pleased with its sleek design and comfy keyboard.

At 3.98 pounds, the HP Chromebook 14 is easy to carry and just as easy to use. The notebook’s aluminum body has a textured set of white island keys, which made typing quick and comfortable. The device packs a 1366 x 768 BrightView LED backlit display, and Web pages looked clear and rich during our time with the device.

As with other notebooks running Chrome OS, the Chromebook 14 puts all of your important Google apps right at your bottom taskbar, with quick-start icons for programs such as Chrome, Gmail, YouTube at the bottom left of the screen. We were able to easily adjust settings such as brightness and wireless network by clicking the HP icon on the bottom right.

The Chromebook 14 includes a 16GB flash cache, with the option to upgrade to 32GB. The notebook comes with 100GB of online storage via Google Drive, with data plans available through T-Mobile.

While we tried out the sleek Snow White variant of the Chromebook 14, the notebook will also be available in Ocean Turquoise and Coral Peach colors. If you’re looking for an affordable Chromebook backed by the power of Haswell, the HP Chromebook 14 is shaping up to be a solid contender when it becomes available this November on Google’s website.

A devout gamer and tech enthusiast, Mike Andronico joined the Laptop team in July 2013. With a B.A. in Journalism from Purchase College and experience at GameNGuide, Examiner and 2D-X, Mike tackles everything from iPhone rumors to in-depth hardware reviews.